Beyond The Waves
by Pocoya
Summary: After finding herself in a Marine's base for years, a mysterious swordsman will free Steph from her cage with a bet. One whole month arrested and Steph will be free along with him and the little girl. Worried about him, Steph asks a stranger for help.
1. Guilty

**Pocoya: Helloooo! This is my first story in English, I can't believe it! =D**

**Luffy: Me neither! ^^**

**Pocoya: Luffy? What're you doing here? You're suposed to be IN the story! **

**Luffy: I know ^^ But I wanted to cheer you up, it's going to be fine!**

**Pocoya: Okay, thank you. Now, say the disclaimer!**

**Luffy: Pocoya doesn't own One Piece or its characters, only this story ^^**

**Pocoya: Oh! I almost forgot, reviews are much appreciated! =D**

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**Beyond The Waves**

Chapter 1: Guilty

She let a sigh escape her lips. It was her own fault, if she had been stronger she could had stood up and defended herself instead of letting him take her place. She looked out the window to the bright, blue sky free of clouds in the endless ocean. The island she lived in was in the middle of the East Blue, it was called Shell Town.

Right now, the governor of the local Marine base was the feared Captain Morgan. She didn't like him and neither did his soldiers but being him the captain they had no choice but to obey him. She did work there, after all.

Well, work, she was captured while she was staying there trying to find a boat to sail on. She didn't know why he chose her but she was captured against her will, and being so far away from home didn't help. Also she preferred to travel alone, mind you.

She thought about it… She was kidnapped from her home island by a bunch of pirates. Then when the Marine freed them she didn't go home. Why? Beside the fact that she was away from home, she wanted to start her own adventure while trying to find her brother. She frowned. Where was he? Why did he leave? She missed him so much… All these two years in this base were making her melancholic.

Her gaze wandered as she thought about the past she so dearly remembered. Then she saw him. Bundled in that wooden cross in the middle of the field where the naval officers trained. His clothes where dirty with dust and mud, his gaze never leaving the ground before him.

Three weeks. Three freaking weeks. Without food or water. She felt so bad, it was her fault. She bit her inside cheek while staring lost in thought.

That's why when he looked up at her in the window she didn't notice it after a while. When she did, she blushed because she was caught staring and she waved at him. She felt stupid while doing so but she didn't know what to do.

Suddenly someone knocked quickly on her bedroom door, startling her.

"Lady Stephanie! Lady Stephanie! Please open up!"

With a last glance at him she went to open the wooden carved door. As she opened it a young marine soldier older than her began talking.

"My apologies for disturbing you Stephanie, but Helmeppo requests your presence"

She sighed again while giggling. It was so obvious he was a newbie.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know" she smiled "But you don't have to be so formal with me"

The young soldier shifted a little uncomfortable.

"Right, sorry. They told me to treat you with respect"

She rolled her eyes a bit. There we go again, she was a maid not a princess.

"Don't worry. Where is he waiting for me?"

"At the main gates" the soldier looked at her nervously "He told me to tell you that if you don't appear on time he would do it again"

At the last sentence her eyes widened. Again? Her wound of her last punishment hadn't healed yet. She hurried down the corridor and the stairs, passing quickly between the known faces of the soldiers who took care of her. Her long hair hanging from her bun waving as she turned every corner. As she approached to her destination, she could hear a well known voice.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

The whiny tone wasn't unknown to her. She hurried down the last corridor with a quick pace. She arrived in no time to the hall of the main gates. There stood three people, two of them were marine soldiers and the other one…

"I-I'm sorry it took me so long Helmeppo" She stopped before him and was trying to catch her breath "I-I was in my room"

The blonde figure that stood before her smiled in a bratty way. He was Helmeppo, the son of the Captain Morgan and the one that had taken a linking to her. Like she was a living doll, he carried her everywhere.

"Oh my beloved Stephanie! Don't worry about it, I was just worried about your wellbeing"

The soldiers behind him rolled his eyes at his reply. Stephanie was tempted to do the same but she had to behave herself if she didn't want to be punished, so she bowed her head.

"I thank you for worrying about me"

Helmeppo clapped his hands happily.

"All right! Now that everyone is here we can leave!"

With that he took her arm like he always did when they went on a walk. She didn't want to be with him or in this base, she was tired and she wanted to go home.

With a screech the heavy doors of the base opened up, the bright sun bathing everything in its light. Stephanie closed her eyes and smiled at the warmth as they stepped out with slow but firm pace, the two soldiers going behind them.

"Oooh! Look at that! Our favorite swordsman is having a visit!~"

She opened her eyes, blinding herself for a second and then blinking away the black dots in her vision. As they walked closer, she could make the figure of the giant cross and the swordsman on it along with the figure of a… little girl? They could hear their voices.

"I don't want any. Don't make me hurt you!" From the deep voice she guessed it was _his_ voice.

The fence guarding the field moved to the side as they walked in.

"You shouldn't be bullying kids" Helmeppo spoke to him, causing him to move his head to glare at the captain's son "Looks like you're still energetic, Roronoa Zoro"

The little girl looked frightened at them but when she saw Stephanie she calmed down a bit. She knew the girl wasn't like the rest of the people in the base.

Unknown to most of them, two people were watching everything that was happening at the moment from the stone wall.

"And another weird guy appears" said the one with the straw hat.

"Thank goodness" commented the other one with pink hair "They're Marines so I'm sure that girl will be fine now"

When they were close to the wooden cross Stephanie recognized the little girl as Rika, a young girl whose mother was the owner of a pub in town. Helmeppo let go of Stephanie's arm, she was thankful for that, and reached down to the little girl's eye level.

"Hey, those onigiri look pretty good" and with a quick movement of his hand, he took one of the two rice balls and ate it.

"No!" Rika exclaimed.

In a matter of seconds Helmeppo spat the rice onto the ground with a disgusted face.

"Nasty! It's full of sugar! Onigiri need salt! Salt!"

The little girl blinked twice confused.

"But I thought it would taste better sweet..."

Stephanie smiled at Rika's face, she was so sweet... even her pigtails mimicked her childish behavior! Helmeppo on the other hand grabbed the other rice ball and stomped it to the ground ignoring the little girl pleas.

"What a horrible thing…" said the guy with pink hair from the stone wall.

When Helmeppo stopped the rice was full with sand and mud. Rika was on her knees with unshed tears in her eyes.

"I-I tried t-to make it with all m-my heart..."

Stephanie couldn't take it any more and she bent down at her side.

"Hey Rika..." she called out to her smiling softly "You're a big girl and big girls shouldn't cry"

The little girl blinked as she glanced to her with tearful eyes.

"B-But I--"

"Shhhh... it's okay. If you want to I can visit you someday and I can teach you how to cook, okay?"

Rika hiccupped as she nodded, Stephanie smiling softly. The swordsman was silent as he watched the older girl taking care of the little one. With a snort the captain's bratty son spoke.

"You haven't read this poster yet? 'Anyone who helps this criminal will be executed. Marine Captain Morgan'"

At the mention of the captain's name, the girl shuddered, scared.

"Brat, you know who my father is, right?"

The spectators from the stone wall talked between them.

"Father?"

"Then he is Captain Morgan's son?"

"Hey, toss this brat out" Helmeppo ordered to the Marine soldiers.

Their eyes widened as they stood without moving. What was he talking about? Helmeppo grabbed the soldier's collar.

"I'm telling you to toss her outside! Are you disobeying my orders? I'll tell my father!"

"Yes! Right away!"

"But Helmeppo, it's only a little girl!" protested the redhead.

"No buts my beloved Stephanie"

She gritted her teeth, it wasn't fair but she couldn't do much more. She stood up from the ground, her bangs hiding her eyes as the soldier approached Rika.

"Little girl, I'm sorry for having to hurt you" he whispered to her.

With that he threw her over the stone wall. The boys that were there watched how the girl went over their heads, but before she could touch the ground, the guy with the straw hat caught her.

"Thank you" said the little girl to the boy with black hair.

"Are you okay, Luffy?" the other boy with pink hair hurried to them and went to check out for any wounds "Are you hurt anywhere? What a horrible guy. Does it hurt anywhere?"

Stephanie's eyes had widened when she watched how the soldier threw Rika over the wall.

"You bastard" murmured the swordsman as Helmeppo laughed.

"It seems like you're pretty stubborn, being alive still"

"Yeah, I will live through the entire month"

Stephanie glanced at him shocked. He was going to continue this?

"Well, do your best"

With that Helmeppo turned around and left laughing. The redhead on the other hand approached to him, still looking at the ground.

"T-Thank you Zoro... I'm causing you nothing but trouble, I'm sorry"

And she turned around and ran to the fence, not giving the swordsman a chance to reply.


	2. Rebel

**Pocoya: I'm really sorry! This chapter took too long... T^T**

**Luffy: Hey, don't worry! At least you made it ^^**

**Pocoya: Again, I'm really sorry. I had a major writer's block, then I had the term exams.... Sorry **

**Luffy: I want to thank everyone who has supported this story, the Straw Hats really appreciate it ^^ **

**Pocoya: Yeah, and thank you for reviewing **Deadlyluv **and** silverlodi**!! You get some cookies =D**

**Luffy: Pocoya doesn't own One Piece or its characters, only this story ^^**

**Pocoya: Anyway, reviews are much appreciated! n.n**

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Beyond The Waves

Chapter 2: Rebel

She gritted her teeth with fury. That Helmeppo, how can he be so… so… miserable. They had returned after the meeting with Zoro at the cross. Helmeppo had left saying something about telling his father how much he loved him while she had gone back to her bedroom. She now sat on her bed, past memories passing through her mind again.

Her violet eyes glared at the pink wall in front of her. Helmeppo wanted her to have a feminine and pretty bedroom. Dumbass. She took a deep breath, trying to cool her self down, but that guilty feeling didn't leave. Rika... She could have stood up for the little girl but she couldn't. She felt so bad, leaving a little girl on her own...

She sat up having decided, her eyes confident, she was going to check on Rika. She was free to go to the village but she couldn't go on her own, but this time she needed to go alone... Her eyes wandered as she thought about it, her hand on her chin. She snapped her fingers cheerfully.

"That's it!" she chirped

In the wink of an eye she had run down the long corridor and opened a rather large door. She smiled when she saw that nobody was there, in the laundry. With quick steps, she searched through the clothes: Dirty, dirty, dirty, clean! Oh no, there's a stain on it...

"Bingo!" she raised an old white uniform that one time belonged to a young soldier.

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The blue eyes of the little girl lit up with happiness.

"Really?"

The boy with the straw hat grinned at her as he answered.

"Yeah, he ate everything!"

"I'm so happy!"

She closed her eyes in bliss. She was so happy, Onii-chan liked her Onigiri! Her childish thoughts were cut off by a soft voice calling her by her name.

"Rika!"

The little girl glanced at the voice. She giggled to the older girl.

"Steph! You look like a soldier!"

The redhead was wearing an old marine uniform: an unbuttoned white jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, along with some trousers which were too big for her. She even had the cap over her bun, making her look boyish. But her feminine features didn't go unnoticed. She smiled nervously at the younger girl.

"Yeah, I guess so" her face turned serious "But it doesn't matter now. Are you okay? You are not hurt anywhere, are you?"

Rika just smiled.

"I'm fine Steph, Luffy caught me before I hit the ground"

She glanced at the boys sitting on the barrels.

"Thank you for saving Rika, I couldn't stop it"

"No problem!" replied the one with the straw hat.

The boy with the pink suddenly remembered something.

"You! You're the girl that was with that guy from before!"

"...Were you spying on us?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"W-Well, more or less, yeah"

The redhead just shrugged it off.

"Oh! I haven't introduced myself. My name is Stephanie Dubois, I work at the local Marine base as a maid"

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, but you can call me Luffy!" exclaimed grinning the boy with the straw hat.

"And I'm Coby, nice to meet you"

"The pleasure is mine" replied Steph smiling

"Um... Steph? Is Zoro really an evil guy like they say?"

The redhead blinked a couple of times.

"Of course not!"

"No!"

Both girls replied confident at the same time. They looked to each other, who would tell them the truth?

"Well, he is in jail because of us" said Rika looking to the ground.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Luffy.

"Everything is Helmeppo's fault!" exclaimed Steph

"Captain Morgan's son..."

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"_Move, move! Clear the road for my cute pet!"_

_A big wolf was trotting along and destroying everything it could get his paws on. It wasn't cute, it was hideous. Stephanie was scared of the wolf but she couldn't leave Helmeppo's side, mostly because he had grabbed her arm in a tight grip._

"_Anyone in the way will be executed!"_

_It was then when the wolf entered the pub which Rika's mother owned. Everyone rose up and stood out of the way of the wolf. It was eating the food on the table. Rika grabbed a broom and began to shake it to scare the wolf away._

"_No! Stop it!"_

"_Hey, you. Do you have a problem with my pet?"_

_Stephanie grabbed his arm._

"_Helmeppo stop. It's only a little girl, leave her alone"_

_He ignored her._

"_Rika, stop it. You're going to get in trouble" said Rika's mom._

"_Helmeppo, please, don't do it!" Steph shook his arm lightly._

_She went to do it again when he grabbed her wrist. She then felt a stinging feeling on her cheek. He had slapped her. She fell to the wooden floor with a 'thump'. Stephanie touched her arching cheek with her hand as she looked up at him._

"_No, no, my beloved Stephanie" He made a 'tsk' sound "I can do everything I want, I am the Captain Morgan's son!"_

_He began to laugh as the wolf pounced on Rika. The little girl screamed._

"_Rika!"_

_Suddenly, all of a sudden, a stool hit the wolf and sent him to his owner's feet._

"_Inugata!" exclaimed Helmeppo "Who did that? I won't let you go!"_

_The man who threw the stool sat there calmly. Stephanie glanced at him from the ground. Who was this man?_

"_Who the hell are you?!"_

_Helmeppo approached him, aiming a sword at him._

"_Oh!... You can't be... Pirate hunter Zoro?"_

_Zoro? The famous pirate hunter? __The one that is supposed to be a demon? He did have three swords at his side, so maybe...?_

"_So what?" replied his deep voice._

"_Why the hell is a pirate hunter bothering the Marines?"_

"_Let me eat in peace"_

_Steph would have smiled at that if it wasn't for her arching cheek. Helmeppo glared at the man and swung his sword._

"_You!__"_

_With a quick movement, the pirate hunter disarmed him. Helmeppo gaped at his sword, now in the ceiling, while the swordsman took this opportunity to punch him, which sent the Captain's son against the wall of the pub. The man with the green bandana unsheathed his sword and held it against Helmeppo's throat._

"_You're annoying..." said the swordsman "Your pet too"_

_Helmeppo shuddered and then began laughing._

"_Don't you understand? If my father finds out about this, those people will be executed"_

_Rika hugged her mother tightly. Steph glared at Helmeppo, how much she despised him... He rose up._

"_What do you think? Why don't we make a deal? Why don't you go to jail instead of them? Let's see... one month. If you survive for one month, I'll let you go too"_

"_What about her?" The swordsman tilted his head towards Steph lying in the ground._

_Helmeppo glanced at her for a moment._

"_She'll be free too. She'll be able to go with you. What do you say? All yours. She'll belong to you"_

_Steph looked up at the swordsman and they connected their eyes for a second. She could see that this feared pirate hunter was a good person. The swordsman turned his eyes to the Captain's son._

"_How about it?" asked nervously Helmeppo._

"_One month, right?"_

_With those three words, he let his sword fell to the ground._

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"It's been three weeks and... I..." Steph closed her violet eyes "I-It's my fault. I-If I had stood up for myself then he wouldn't be--"

"Hey, it's not your fault" said Coby trying to calm down the older girl.

Rika hugged her middle.

"Steph... Please don't cry! Onii-chan said it wasn't your fault!"

The redhead wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"B-But Helmeppo punches a-and kicks Zoro while he's tied there... I-It's not fair!"

"So that's what happened..." Coby thought out loud.

There was a person who didn't talk. He was thinking about what happened, his straw hat covering his eyes. Then with a determined mind, he looked up.

"You want to repay him, right?" Steph nodded.

He grinned, his white teeth sparkling in the sun "Then come with me!"

Suddenly, sound of broken glass came from down the street. Everyone glanced at the pub that was close by. Steph grimed at the whiny voice that was coming from there. _Please, don't let it be..._

"I'm hungry! We're all going to eat for free"

_...him_.

"Hey, hurry up and bring some alcohol!"

Coby frowned realizing something.

"Wait, isn't he...?"

"Yes, it's him. Helmeppo"

Steph sighed, sitting herself on the stone stairs. Her white trousers were going to get dirty. Oh well, like that matters. Helmeppo's whiny tone could still be heard.

"What's taking so long? Hurry up!"

Luffy stood up, his intention was going to the pub and clear some things up. As he walked, Coby and Rika followed him. But the little girl glanced back.

"Steph, aren't you coming?"

The redhead looked up, feeling three pairs of eyes on her. She went to say something but decided against to. She said something else instead.

"No Rika, I'm sorry. I would love to, but if he sees me here, in town, by myself I would get in trouble"

It was true. If Helmeppo or someone else from the base found her, that would mean one week drinking water and eating nothing by the nice shade of a cell. And with those hated cuffs too. Thinking about it made her cringe.

"Okay! Do whatever you need to do"

Steph nodded smiling. The boy with the straw hat made her smile easily, it was like he was some kind of light.

"I'll be waiting at the base for you!"

"All right, see ya!"

"See you later!"

"Bye Steph!"

When she saw their figures entering the pub, she rose up. She tried to clean those dark dots of dirt off her white trousers. She had to return to the base to prepare herself. She gave up, seeing the grey stains never leaving.

As she walked back to the base at a slow pace, enjoying the calm walk, she gazed towards the clouds. She wanted to be free, just like them. Without even realizing it, she thought back at the pirate hunter.

His green hair that defied natural colors, his sharp features made him look aggressive but something in his eyes made her comfortable. When they looked at each other, back when they met, she could see he was reliable. She smiled again.

"Who knows? Maybe today..."

Maybe today, they would be free.


	3. NOTICE!

**CONTENT NOTICE**

Even though I created this story years ago, I keep receiving notifications of readers who have added it to its watchlist or even favourites:

First of all, thank you :)

Secondly, I don't think it's fair for those of you who really like this to read something I wrote when I had barely no English knowledge whatsoever. So, I've been thinking about it and I might edit the whole series. Don't worry, content will only be upgraded and no changes will be made to the storyline (that is, if I had one... XD). Grammar mistakes will be corrected and chapters will be longer, that's always good right?

I'm sorry if you expected a chapter update :(


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